


Apprentice

by LadyDarkPhoenix (Phoenixfire)



Category: Firefly, Iron Man (Movies)
Genre: Companions (Firefly)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-12
Updated: 2017-11-12
Packaged: 2019-02-01 02:55:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12695736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Phoenixfire/pseuds/LadyDarkPhoenix
Summary: To stay safe from his father, a young Tony Stark is sent away from his homeworld to train as a Companion. He catches the eye of Inara Serra, who grooms him into the man he will become.





	Apprentice

**Author's Note:**

> So this was inpired by this Vixy and Tony song http://www.vixyandtony.com/lyrics_apprentice.html#select=Lyrics
> 
> Listening to it gave me the idea for Tony being a Companion and unless there's more intrest in my little idea this will be a one shot for now but if there's intrest I might be persuaded to write more indepth about Companion Tony.

Tony was but an awkward child of twelve when his mother sent him away to train as a companion to save him from his father. There weren't any other boys at house Madrassa, so he felt alone. The priestess was kind to him, allowing Tony to serve the registered Companions tea when they weren't contracted out. His favorite one to serve though was the one called Inara.

Inara always was kind to him, saying thank you when others would ignore his presence. It was unusual for the house to take on a male for training, but his mother had grown up with the priestess and had gotten this favor for him. To Tony, Inara shined like all the stars in the ‘verse, with perfect skin and so full of the poise and grace that Companions were so famed for. She also excelled at the more varied aspects of their training, never giving a hint in her demeanor that she was as dangerous as she was beautiful and her council was highly regarded by her more high profile clientele.

He couldn't help but stare as he served her tea, dreaming of the day he might be able to entertain the kinds of men and women Inara did, not noticing that she was studying him until her voice broke through his imaginary world.

“You know, everyone that trains to be a Companion looks like they are soft and pampered,” Inara laughed slightly, “but to truly succeed you must be more than just a pretty face. Do you have it in you to study hard at the lessons here and become accomplished?”

Tony could only nod mutely as he poured another cup of tea into the cup she indicated, vowing to himself that he would excel at his lessons so he could make her proud. From then on, he made sure to be a shining example of the kind of a person that would be accepted into the guild, throwing himself into the ceremonies and traditions with a newfound love of them. 

In the past he had seen the house as a prison when he could be on Ariel making a difference like his father had wanted with his mind through his father's cold abuse, but now he saw his mother's wisdom in sending him to Shinon as the practices gave him a sense of peace that he hadn't known in the Alliance schools his father had enrolled him in. Even with the knowledge that he would be selling his body as well as his mind, it wasn't an unpleasant thought as one might have imagined. It actually gave Tony a thrill to think that he could give pleasure to someone that needed that release as a way to care for them. Even if he had to stay emotionally detached outside of their sanctioned interaction, he felt he could do some good instead of being the instrument of death his father had wanted him to be.

One night, after he'd been in training for a few years, Tony hadn't been able to sleep from nightmares about his younger years with his father, and so he'd snuck into Inara’s garden to hopefully find a quiet place to meditate outside of the house temple. He hadn't imagined Inara would be out seeking the same solace from the well manicured place she loved so well. He felt like an intruder as he saw her mask slip, revealing the woman underneath.

"You don't have to be wild to want to run  
Look at the roses and you'll see them climbing ever higher toward the sun. These garden walls are not for me." Inara sighed as she looked longingly up at the stars, the vulnerability on her unmade face as she stood in her dressing gown, bathed in the nighttime glow of the sky.

Shocked at the confession, Tony quietly slipped away so as not to disturb her. Was she thinking about leaving? Was that even possible? He knew it was uncommon for Companions to leave when they were as well established as Inara, but it wasn't forbidden. What could her words mean?

The confession was soon forgotten as his training continued. Tony had been so very shy and quiet when he'd first arrived, but it seemed something inside him had caught his idol's attention. Inara had started playing the role of older sister to him as he progressed through the ranks, teaching him the finer points of the Companion’s arts. Inara counseled him on the best ways to be diplomatic in sensitive situations as well as sharing the best places she knew for outfits and cosmetics he would need to keep up his appearance and how to always look his best for whatever the situation called for, in or out of his clothes.

It seemed that they were more alike than Tony had previously thought as he got to know Inara better. She was so smart and intelligent that he found himself actually enjoying the time spent in her tutelage, glowing with happiness when she told him that she felt they were more like siblings and friends than simply teacher and student. He felt the same as his old hero worship of her subsided and he let her see the true him like she had with him over the years.

All her hard work with him had paid off as Tony had passed his final registration exam easily to join the ranks of Companions. He opted to stay at the house, choosing clients that came through at a decent set of rooms that fit his station as a member of the elite. 

Men and women of all ages passed through his workspace, and Tony excelled at his work, paying each the attention they deserved, even if it was just an evening of playing arm candy and a bit of celebratory sex after to stroke an ego, that was what a Companion did for those that could afford it. His job was to take whoever he chose and make them feel like the most important person in the ‘verse during their time with him.

Inara still made sure they had tea in her garden, when their busy schedules would allow. It was during one of these little tea parties of theirs that Tony noticed Inara was looking wishfully up at the sky.

 

“Is there something wrong sister?” he asked, gently setting his teacup on the table with a worried look to her.

Inara simply gave him a sad smile. "You don't have to be wild to want to run. Look at the ring-doves and you'll see them stretching their clipped wings out toward the sun. This pretty cage is not for me." 

“What do you mean?”

“Anthony, I know my path if I stay here. I go from helping train the new hopeful Companions and working to priestess of our guild house. Tony, I..” She paused to collect herself, looking down into the depths of her teacup before whispering so he could barely hear her, “I don't think I want that life. When I think about it I get chills down to my bones.”

Tony studied her for a moment, seeing the thinly veiled fear in her demeanor, there was something she wasn't saying but he wasn't about to press as she continued.

"When others look to you to make their choices, you no longer make your own... " Inara took a deep breath before sipping her tea. “I want to make my own choices…”

It wasn't too long after that, Inara left the house to go traveling the outer rim planets. The story was she wanted to see the universe, but Tony felt it was something else. That would be the only explanation on why she never told him goodbye before leaving. He was happy that the priestess had granted his request to have the garden space for his own; it was a soothing reminder of his friend and sister.

Tony enjoyed his success as a Companion. All of his clients gave him glowing recommendations to their friends saying there was no gentleman as fine as he to take out to high society functions and his skills as a lover were unmatched. As happy as his work made him, he found himself walking the garden at night to gaze up at the stars, wondering about Inara.

There had been many stories passed on about his former mentor over the waves and from clients. Stories of Inara in battle, falling in love with a smuggler ship's captain and a few near death experiences. Tony wasn't sure that all the stories were true, but some of them felt true enough for him to be happy and scared for her. It sounded like she was flourishing out in the black, much happier than she had been before she had left him and the house.

All the lessons Inara had taught him, Tony had taken to heart, but the one he was thinking of now were the ones about the rose and the dove. He was feeling restless and unfulfilled staying here on the core planets, maybe it was time to follow her lead. With a final long look up at the glittering sky, he made up his mind to talk to the priestess in the morning about taking his leave and going out into the black for some adventures of his own.

With a small chuckle, Tony whispered to the sky, “You don't have to be wild to want to run. Look at the river and you'll see. See it leap and dance away, laughing in the sun. Perhaps it knows a place for me.”


End file.
